Do the reasons professors choose academic work influence their work interest, time devotion and achievements? A study of academics in Taiwan’s higher education

The purposes of the study are to explore the relationships among the reasons professors choose academic work and their devotion to and achievements in their work. To achieve the purposes, the study used questionnaire investigation and interview as methods to collect the data needed. One hundred and seventeen questionnaire samples and fifty interview samples were collected, which included different professional areas, ranks, gender, educational types, and university types. The data collected were analyzed statistically. The results show that the reasons people choose academia for their careers influences the time they devote to different work areas (research, teaching, and service) and the achievements they produce related to these three duties. The study offers suggestions for academic human resources management based on the findings.